Roller-bearing



(NoModel.) i 2 sheets-sheet 1. G. J. S.C0LL1NS. ROLLER BEARING.

No. 595,696. Patented 13.60....21", 1897,

' (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

9.*J. 999191.1199- v ROLLER BEARING.' 190.595,996. Patented 136091,11897.

Fries.

ATENT GEORGE J. S. COLLINS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

@ROLLER-BEARING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 595,696, dated December 21, 1897. Application filed July 30, 18967I Serial No'.- 601.043. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE J. S. COLLINS, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Roller-Bearings; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying draw ings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in roller-bearings and refers more specifically to means forhousing and separating t-he balls or roller elements in such bearings. previous application, Serial No. 576,101, iiled January20, 1896,Ihave described and claimed a construction wherein the roller elements traveled in the same direction with respect to the bearing, which action is accomplished by means of roller-separating devices interposed between adjacent parts of the main supporting-roller elements.

Mypresent invention relatesv more particularly to means for connecting the several separating devices and also means whereby all the roller elements are rotatably held in a housing and are thus capable 0f being bodily removed from the journal simultaneously without disturbing the relative position of said roller elements.

The invention also has reference to a novel arrangement and disposition ofthe angles of the bearingsurfaces of the cones and ballcup, whereby relative movement of the axle with reference to the bearings is prevented and also an improved bearing secured.

The nature of the invention and its advantages Will be more fully understood by reference t0 the illustrations and the subjoined descriptions, and Will be pointed out in the appended claims.

For convenience the illustrations of myim provements are shown as embodied in a bearing for a bicycle-wheel but it is obvious that the invention may be practically embodied Without substantial change to any kind of bearing for which as a class rollerbearings are adapted.

In the drawings,l Figure l illustrates a central vertical sectional view of a bearing embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is an end view In av .of the same with the cap removed. Fig. 3 is a sideviewof the ball or roller element housing shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a plan view of a modified form of housing for the ball or roller elements. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the same. Figs. 6 and '.7 are plan views of modified forms of the housing for the ball or roller elements. Fig. 8 is a perspective fragmentary View of the form of housing shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 9 is a sectional view of the bearing, showing the application of the modification of housing shown in Fig. 6. Fig. lO is a sectional view of a bearing, showing the application of the modification of housing illustrated in Fig. 7.

Referring to the construction shown in Fig. 1, the letter A designates as a whole the hub of a Wheel of tubular form and provided near its end with a cup-bearing B, the latter having a central opening b at its inner end, through which the axle O projects. The inner or bearing surface of the cup B (lettered 5') is shown as formed at an angle of seven and one-half degrees with respect tothe longitudinal axis of the axle C. D is a cone secured upon the axle C by screw-threadsin a familiar manner and having a conical or flaring bearing-surface d, shown as arranged at an angle of forty-five degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis of the axle O. The cone D has an exteriorly-screw-threaded hub d', and upon said hub I secure a nut or ring D', which is provided with a conical or tapered face d2, which is shown as formed at an angle of thirty degrees from the longitudinal axis of the axle O. E E are main balls or roller elements .resting in the race formed between the surfaces d d2 and upon which the surface b of the cup-bearing B rests. I have determined after mu ch experimentation that athree-point ball-bearing in which the outer bearing-sun face is formed at an angle equal to one-half of the difference between the angles of the innerbearing-surfaces produces the very best results, other things being equal, affords less opportunity for cramping, and diminishes the friction as well as the wear upon the parts,

and I shall therefore make a claim to this specic construction separately as well as in combination with the other features of my invention herein disclosed. O is a cap secured upon the screw-threaded end c of the axle C. For convenience of illustration and description I have shown the angles of thirty degrees, forty-live degrees, and seven and one-half degrees as applied to the axle-bearing surfaces and cup-bearing surfaces, respectively.

Referring now to Figs. at and 5, it will be observed that the roller elements E are rotatably confined between separating devices, which latter consist of rollers F, arranged in this instance parallel to the bearing-surface b of the cup B. The several separating elements F are each rotatably mounted upon a pin f, the ends of which project through suitable apertures in two side plates FQ which constitute the sides of the housing for the roller elements. The outer margins of the plates F arc held at suitable distances apart by spreading blocks or pins f.

By reference to Figs. 4 and it will he noticed that the roller elements E are of greater diameter than the width of the housing, and hence project through suitable slots or apertures f2, one of which is positioned between each pair of separators F. It will also be noted that the distances between adjacent separators F and the relative distances between their bearing-surfaces and the outer margins of the plates F with relation to the diameter of the roller elements are such as to cause the latter to extend beyond the outer margins of the plates F. It is therefore apparent that the plates F have no bearingpoints which can in any way interfere with the engagement of theroller elements E and their operation upon the bearing-surfaces with which they are designed to engage.

As shown in Fig. l, the portion of the roller element E that projects between the plates F and their outer margins engages the conical bearing-surfaces l1' of the cup B, while those surfaces of' the elements E which project through the apertures f2 of the plates F engage the surface (l and d2 of the cone D and the nut d', respectively. As explained in my said former application, the separating elements F enable me to rotate all the roller elements E in the same direction and in the direction in which the bearingsurfaces b of the cup B is traveling, whereby all but the rolling friction is avoided.

Referring to the construction shown in Figs. 3 and 2, it will be noted that it is precisely the same as that shown in Figs. 4 and 5, with the exception that in the latter the separating elements F are substantially of the same length as the spreading blocks or pins f', and hence the plates F' are substantiallyparallel, while in Figs. l, 2, and 3 the separating elements F are very much shorter than the spreading pins or blocks f, and hence the inner portions of the plates F", carrying the separating elements or rollers F, are bent, as shown at f3, so as to snuglyengage the respective ends of said separators F, the pins f passing through the separators and through the inwardlybended portions of the plates F, as shown in the drawings.

Referring now to the construction shown in Figs. 6, 8, and 9, it will be noticed that the housing in its general arrangement is the same as in the two forms previously described, it consisting of two side plates F, each scalloped at its inner margin to form apertures or recesses f2. To the inner ends of those portions of the plates F' between said spaces or apcrtures f2 the separators F are secured, as before described. The plates F are also bent; but in this instance they are so bent as to bring the outer margins f4 against each other, and therefore the separator blocks or pins j" of the formerly-described construction now become rivets or pins f5. This construction of housing I Iind convenient to use where a portion G', with interior surfaces f/ g', the latter being screw-threaded and the former, g, being given a suitable angle to form a bearing-surface. A nut H, provided with a conical bearing-surface h, is secured to the hub G, engaging the screw-threaded portion g' in a familiar manuel', the portions r/ and 7L forming a conical two-part bearing-surface for the roller elements E. In this instance the axle C is provided with an integral cone C2. The cone I) is secured to the axle C in the usual manner, as is also the cap C'. It will be observed in this form of bearing that the roller elem ent Elias four tangential bearing-points. It may or may not be convenient to make the cone D, as well as the cone C2, integra-l with the axle C. At any rate it is more convenient to arrange the forni of housing for the roller elements so that it shall not approach too closely to the conical surfaces thereof, and for this reason I find it convenient tojoin the outer margins of the plates F', as indicated. A convenient space 7L is provided for the free movement of said outer margins of the plates F by reason of the fact that t-he adjacent margins of the conical surfaces 7L and g may be cut away, as shown.

In some instances I may lind it desirable to use the form of bearing shown in Fig. lO, which is the same construction as that shown in Fig. with the exception of the cones D and C2. As shown in this figure, there are two cones I and I', having a bearing-surface it", respectively, secured upon the axle C byy screw-threads in a familiar manner. The bearing-surfaces t of these cones are separated by an extension 'i2 on the cone I, which extension is of reduced diameter, thereby forming an annular groove t in the bottom of the ball-race that is formed by the adjacent bearing-surfaces it" of the cones. The housing for the roller elements consists of the two plates FQ scalloped exteriorly to form apertures f2, as before, in which apertures the roller elements E are placed. The separator- IOO IIO

rollers F to support theV roller elements E are positioned as before, but the plates F are brought together near their inner margins and are secured by rivets f6. The extreme inner margins of the plates F are bent outwardly at right angles, as shown at f7, and thus constitute an interior annular bearingring or bearing-surface for the housing.A The combined width of these flanges, as well as the interior diameter of the plates between the flanges, is such that the ring or bearingsurface is adapted to fit loosely, as shown in Fig. 10, within the annular groove t3 in the bottoln of the ball-bearing race. While it is intended that the ring shall not be loose in said groove and that the construction will be such as will tend to steady the housing in position, yet it is to be understood that the proportionsare to be such that there shall be no substantial amount of friction-in other lwords, that the housing shall rotate with perfect freedom.

It will be obvious that with the exception of the constructions shown in Figs. 7 and l0 the roller elements may be removed bodily from the bearing or hub in the housing-frame by the two plates F.

invention, the essential features of which are stated in the claims hereto appended.

I claim as my invention-- 1. The combination with an axle, of a cone thereon having a bearing-surface arranged t l Y, Y pw.

at an. angle to the longitudinal axis of the axle, a nut on said axle provided with an op- `positely-arranged bearing-surface, said two bearing-surfaces being arranged on different angles and forming aball-race, a ball-cup provided with a bearing-surface opposed to said oppositely-arranged surfaces and formed at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the axle equal to one-half the difference between the angles of theother two bearing-surfaces, a plurality of roller elements, a roller-separating device between each pair of roller elements, and means for securing each roller-separating device with its longitudinal axis parallel with the plane of the bearingsurface of the cup-bearing, substantially as described.

2. The combination with al1 axle, of a cone thereon having a bearing-surface arranged at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the axle, a nut provided with a bearing-surface arranged opposite to the bearing-surface of the cone and at a different angle, said two bearing-surfaces forming a ball-race, a ball- Cup provided with a bearing-surface opposed and means for securing said parts in oper-l ative relation, substantially as specified.

3. The combination with an axle, of a cone thereon having a bearing-surface arranged at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the axle, a nut provided with an oppositely-aranged bearing-surface, said two bearing-surfaces being arranged at different angles and `forming a ball-race, a ball-cup provided with a bearing-surface opposed to said oppositelyarranged surfaces and formed at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the axle equal to onehalf the difference between the angles of the cone and nut, a plurality of roller elements, roller-separating devices, one betweeneach pair of roller elements, and means for securing said parts in operative relation, comprising a pair of housing-plates between which the separating devices are secured at suitable intervals, and having suitable apertures therein for the reception of the roller elements, substantially as described.

4. In a ball-bearing, a housing for the roller elements comprising two annular plates, means for securing the same together, and at a suitable distance apart, a plurality of roller elements located intermediate of the plates, and a rotatable ball-separating device between adjacent roller elements and located inside of a line passing'through the centers of the roller elements.

5. In a ball-bearing, a housing for the ball or roller elements comprising twoannular or ring plates, means for securing the same together at suitable distances apart, a plurality of roller elements located intermediate said plates between oppositely-arranged recesses therein, a rotatable ball-separating device between adjacent roller elements and recesses, substantially as described.

` 6. In a ball-bearing, a housing for the ball or roller elements, comprising two annular plates, means for securing the same together but at a suitable distance apart, a plurality of roller elements located intermediate said plates between oppositely-arranged recesses therein,'and a rotatable ball-separating devicebetween adjacent roller elements, said roller elements being so located in said recess that their inner surfaces will lie inside of a circumferential line passing through the ballseparating devices.

7. In a ball-bearing, a housing for the ball or roller elements, comprising two annular ring-plates, means for securing the same together but at a suitable distance apart, a plurality of roller elements located intermediate said plates between oppositely-arranged recesses therein, and a rotatable ball-separat- IOO IIO

ing device between adjacent roller elements, the diameter of said roller elements being greater than the distance between adjacent separating devices whereby they may be simultaneously removed from or placed in the bearing.

8. A housing for the roller elements of a ball-bearing comprising two ring-plates,aplu rality of ball-separating devices rotatably secured at intervals between the plates at or near theirinner margins, said rings being provided with a socket or recess between each separating device, a plurality of roller elements in said sockets and means for securing thc plates at a suitable distance apart whereby said roller elements may partially project beyond the plane of the outer surfaces of said plates and also project peripherally between them as and for the purpose specified.

9. In a ball-bearing, a housing comprising two ring-plates having suitable corresponding recesses, roller-bearing elements in said i recesses, a roller-separating device between each pair of roller elements, and means for securing said parts in operative relation comprising rivets passing through adjacent and engaging marginal' parts of the ring-plates, each plate having an annular bend therein, substantiallyas and for the purpose specified.

l0. In a roller-bearing, the combination with an axle provided with suitable bearingsurfaces, a hub provided with a ball-cup and roller elements located in the race formed thereby, ball-separating devices between the roller elements of a housing for confining the roller elements whereby said housing and roller elements may be removed from the bearing without disturbing the relation of the balls to each other.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I aix my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 23d day of July, A. D. 1896.

GEORGE J. S. COLLINS.

lVitnesses:

TAYLOR E. BROWN, XVILLIAM L. HALL. 

